A secular solution

Schools walk thin line to include all in holiday season.

Schools walk thin line to include all in holiday season.

December 12, 2005|ADAM JACKSON Tribune Staff Writer

A few years ago, Sara Gleason found herself faced with her usual holiday classroom full of kindergartners whipped to a fever pitch of Christmas excitement. But that year, something was different -- namely, a little girl from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, a religion that does not observe the Christmas holiday. It was a situation that to Gleason, a developmental kindergarten teacher at Merritt Elementary School in Niles, called for sensitivity, careful planning and maintaining a strong line of communication with the child's parents. "Holiday celebrations are a part of going to school," she said. "But, at the same time, you can't exclude or alienate students from differing backgrounds." Gleason is not alone in her quandary. Historically, December 'tis the season for parties, carols, and holiday cheer. But although Jesus is the reason for the season for many Americans, the celebration of his birth is also a reason for public school administrators to walk a fine line between celebrating the holiday and recognizing the rights of students and staffers from non-Christian backgrounds. Administrators call it the "December dilemma." And although the law doesn't forbid outright the inclusion of traditional Christmas symbols in public schools, schools traditionally tiptoe along the hazy boundary between acknowledging the Christmas holiday and actually promoting it. Fran Quigley, the director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, said holiday celebrations in public schools are OK. That is, if they don't promote any individual religion. "Holiday celebrations in public schools are completely allowable, as long as they tend toward secular expression," he said. "Even including Christmas carols in holiday programs is OK if the intent and general nature of the event is secular." What does the law say? In Engel v. Vitale, 1962, and Abington v. Schempp, 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that public schools may not sponsor religious practices but may incorporate instruction about religion into their curricula. In other words, schools are free to recognize holidays, from Christmas to Hanukkah to Kwanzaa, as long as their intent is to provide secular instruction about religious traditions instead of promoting any one religious belief. How does that philosophy play out at the level of individual school districts? At Niles Community Schools, curriculum director Jim Craig said the district errs on the side of caution during the holiday season to avoid alienating individual groups of students. "Our policy is that we don't observe religious holidays," he said. "We even refer to Christmas vacation as winter break." He admits, however, that completely erasing the term Christmas from the lexicon used in schools during the holiday season may be unrealistic. "Am I saying that no one is going to use the term 'Christmas party'?" he said. "No, I'm not saying that at all. But the focus has to be on celebrating the season, not an individual religious holiday." That's a focus that Teresa Heinle tries to maintain in her job, which is teaching Spanish to kindergartners to sixth-graders at Brandywine Elementary School. But that can be easier said than done. "You'll find that Spanish-speaking countries are predominantly Roman Catholic," she said. "And their religion is a big part of their culture." But not such a big part that Heinle was unable to find some cultural celebrations that did not incorporate religion. What's more, the celebrations she uses in the classroom are fun, for both the kids and the teacher. "One is called Hogueras -- it involves making a fire, then everybody jumps over the fire for good luck," she said. "The kids are always interested in learning about that one." Heinle said there is room for religion in some of the lessons she teaches during the holiday but that a line needs to be drawn. The idea, she said, is not to promote the religion in question but allow students to study how it fits into the culture they are studying. "You aren't proselytizing," she said. "With the older kids, it is OK to study these issues, but you can't promote any one religion." Staff writer Adam Jackson: ajackson@sbtinfo.com (574) 936-1029